When you first suggest elder care services to your aging adult, you might be shocked when she tells you “no.” Quite a few aging family members are not keen about the idea at first, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll always be resistant to the idea.
Get Help from Other Family Members to Explain the Benefits
Sometimes your aging adult needs to know that other people besides you also know that home care providers could be seriously helpful for her. Take the time to educate some of your other family members and ask if they’re willing to help you talk to your elderly family member. Sometimes having a united front can be a powerful tool.
Focus on Maintaining Independence and Other Positive Effects
When you do talk about hiring elder care providers with your senior, make sure that you mention the positive benefits to her. Maintaining her independence is a big one that she may think is inaccurate at first. But having some extra help around the house can actually keep her in her own home for much longer. She can also have companionship and help with transportation when she wants to go somewhere.
Don’t Issue an Ultimatum
One tactic that you don’t want to use is any form of ultimatum at all. Telling your aging adult that she’s going to accept this help “or else” is extremely likely to backfire. You don’t want your elderly family member to feel as if you’re forcing her to accept this help. It might be difficult to refrain from doing just that, however.
Make Home Care Easy for Her to Access
You might find that it helps quite a bit for your elderly family member to feel in control of this experience a bit. If you can make it easy for her to access home care services when she needs and wants them, you might be surprised about her attitude toward the entire topic shifting. This helps her to feel as if she truly is maintaining her independence and that she’s able to make these decisions for herself on her own timetable.
You may need to give your elderly family member time to come to terms with having home care providers available to her. She may want to look at this as a trial run or have help only for short periods of time during the week. As she experiences benefits, she may change her mind.
When you are in need of care for a senior loved one, consider senior care provided by Golden Heart Senior Care. We have offices nationwide. For more information, call us today at (800) 601-2792.
